The Edinburgh Minute ⏰ Monday 11 November 2024

Uni tells students not to be 'snobs', hunt for Niddrie fire-raiser, locals head to COP29 + seagull crackdown rejected

🌞 Good morning Edinburgh. After a cloudy weekend, the sun is due to make an appearance for most of today according to the Met Office forecast. Here’s Monday’s Edinburgh Minute. 

🚔 A 13-year-old boy has been charged over vandalism at the Macklin Motors car dealership on Calder Road that resulted in £20,000 worth of damage. - BBC Scotland News.
⮑ Meanwhile detectives looking in to an assault in the Grassmarket released CCTV pictures of a man they want to identify.

🔥 Police have released CCTV images of a man linked to a wilful fire in Niddrie last Sunday. - Police Scotland.

🗣️ “I live round the corner from Niddrie. On Halloween night I saw children trick or treating and large groups of families on the street but in contrast to that I could see the Police helicopter just a few miles away. This year I’ve struggled to find reason for this, I’ve struggled to offer compassion to those who have looked to put their community in fear.” - Kaitlin Dryburgh writes for Common Weal about last weekend’s disorder.

🚎 Councillors have rejected a plan to give a former trams boss a new job on the Lothian Buses board, due to concerns about reputational damage. - Donald Turvill, Local Democracy Reporter, Evening News.

⛪️ The funeral of comedian Janey Godley will include a ‘final tour’ to Edinburgh. Her family posted these details.

🪶 Calls to make it easier to control Edinburgh’s seagull population have been rejected after the RSPB raised concerns over ‘serious recent declines’ in some gull species. - Donald Turvill, Local Democracy Reporter, STV News.

🎓 The University of Edinburgh has warned students from privileged backgrounds ‘don’t be a snob’ to their state-educated peers. In new guidance for students, the uni admitted there has been class-related prejudice on campus, with state-educated students feeling ‘inadvertently or deliberately shamed’. - Marc Horne, The Sunday Times.

💃 ‘The ultimate Edinburgh guide to going to the club sober’ - Rebecca Allen, The Edinburgh Tab.

🌍 A delegation from Edinburgh is travelling to Baku, Azerbaijan, to participate the United Nations climate change conference, COP29. It starts today and runs for two weeks. - More details via the University of Edinburgh.

📝 There was plenty written over the weekend about the decision to reopen the People’s Story Museum. The U-turn ‘represents a dramatic victory for local campaigners and has revealed a shocking state of affairs in how Edinburgh Council is run,’ writes Mike Small in Bella Caledonia.

📸 Kenny Farquharson reviews the Portrait Gallery’s new photography exhibition, in The Jaggy Thistle.

🦪 Thousands of oysters released into the Firth of Forth are said to be ‘thriving again’ after a century-long absence from the Scottish estuary since they were lost to overfishing. Marine experts from Heriot-Watt University spoke to Jessica Murray in The Guardian.

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📌 “Lived Experience: can you hear us? The People’s Conference 2024 - A free annual event organised by and for people with mental health lived experience in Edinburgh and the Lothians; you can expect interesting discussions, speakers and a relaxed informal atmosphere; booking essential.” - Thanks to CAPS Independent Advocacy for sharing this.

📌 “Tickets are now available for Edinburgh Leisure’s 18th annual Festive Gymnastics Display, where more than 800 gymnasts and cheerleaders from six Edinburgh Leisure venues, plus guest clubs, will come together to dazzle audiences at Meadowbank Sports Centre on Sunday, 24 November 2024.” - More details via Edinburgh Leisure.

📌 “Join paper folding artist, Kate Colin, at Dovecot Studios on the 16th November for the launch of her new book, 'Paper Folding: Learn in a Weekend' and discover how she has developed her design practice and take inspiration for how you can create your own paper works of art. Today, all her work is produced in small limited edition quantities and made entirely by hand using traditional folding and fabric pleating techniques – providing an inspiration to anyone embarking on their own creative career.” - Thanks to the studios team for this.

📌 Starting tomorrow: “Join local artist Sarah Calmus in this 5 week life drawing course at Heart of Newhaven Community Centre with Look and Draw. Working from the life model this 5 week block will enable you to develop your drawing skills and your own unique language of marks through experimentation with different techniques and drawing media. All are welcome to join whether you are a complete novice or a seasoned drawer.” - Thanks to Sarah Calmus, Tutor, Look and Draw, for this.

📮 Is that it? Something missing? Share your local news and events here.

📈  The most-visited links from the last newsletter: 

1. 🏄‍♀️ Gaby Soutar reviews Lost Shore surf resort (which opens today).

2. 🚉 Cracks found in 75 places on tram line.

3. 🍻 Porty Vault bar closing.

⏰  Thank you for reading daily edition number 496. This newsletter remains independent, ad-free and free to 16,300+ free subscribers, sending 540,000+ visits to other local news sources since launch. The Minute is written between 5am and 7am every day and it wouldn’t exist without paying subscribers. Your support keeps this newsletter going. Thank you!